The Great Festival Gathering
by Teefa and Co
Summary: Holiday fic and Blazing Guns sequel. The Blazing Guns, Maxwell Gang and Schroedinger Family are having a Festival party at Maya's mansion. Can Jessica's matchmaking plan bring everyone together? Will Gallows and Laura find their alcoholic egg nog?
1. Ingeneous Plans

**Ingenious Plans**

"I don't know about that," Alfred Schroedinger whispered, "My sister might not like the idea."

"Don't be a stick in the mud! Of course it'll be great. Maya will love to see all her friends for the holidays. Her house is the largest as well. Virginia's got the second biggest but she has to deal with her aunt and uncle. You two don't need to deal with adults sans Todd who will just be allowed to party with us. Rest of us have small homes," Jessica Enduro informed him while swatting his back with her palm.

The Blazing Guns and Scroedinger Family both had met by chance in Claiborne in late November. Laura had gone to the bar while Vincent and Lyla went along to control her. Maya was upgrading her ARMs, Todd was off practicing his sword, and Shady had gone to take a nap, just like any sane cat. Jessica and Alfred were in the village square sitting on the grass. The former had long silver hair and bright violet eyes that ran in her father's family. She wore a red T-shirt with a leather vest, leather boots, fingerless red gloves, a leather belt, a pair of black pants with a flame design on the bottom, and a baseball cap with the same design. The latter was blond with blue eyes like the rest of the Scroedingers. Both were 17-years-old and had feelings for one another. He wore a simple green shirt, tan shorts, a bandanna, leather shoes, and a panda head bookbag strapped to his back. However, being on two different teams, it was hard to spend time together. Thus, the girl suggested a party for the holidays.

In late December, the people of Filgaia celebrated The Festival of the Guardians. It was in honor of the gifts given throughout history by the Guardians such as the land itself, donating their energy to keep the land as healthy as possible, the victories over Demons, and the Chosen Heroes of the wars that took place on Filgaia. People would give praise to the Guardians and presents to their loved ones.

Alfred replied, "I…I guess I can ask her to have a party. It'll just be my sister's team, your team, and Miss Virginia's team. Not like we'll be inviting some of our real enemies, as opposed to the simple rivals that Maya and Virginia are, or Percival." Percival was a guy who had a real big crush on Maya.

S...S

When Maya Scroedinger was told of the party plans, she smiled. She was an elegant 23-year-old woman with wavy blond hair and blue eyes. Her clothing consisted of a long orange dress, blue bow in her hair, leather boots, and white gloves. "Sounds like fun. We've got 11 humans and a cat; there's no way that will prove to be much of a problem. You've got yourself a deal to hold it at my place Jessica."

"Thanks Maya," Jessica said, "After all, you've got the best house for the party. Besides, this is a great chance for us to all be together without having to fight over some old jewels." Silently, however, she had a deeper plan. Jessica knew that her brother, Jet, was in love with her best friend, Virginia. Though they had danced with one another at the party in March, she didn't believe they'd gone much further. Jet was a stubborn boy, partly because of his childhood problems, and Virginia was somewhat naïve.

"Your welcome. But It'll be your job to go and find the Maxwell gang to give them the invitations," the young gunner informed her brother's friend. Then, dragging Alfred by the collar, she went off to find both Shady and Todd. Jessica, meanwhile, went to the bar to reunite with Laura, Lyla, and Vincent.

S...S

Laura exclaimed, "Party! As in Festival of the Guardians Party! With egg nog and special Festival Wines! Count me in!" She was 21 years old and had wavy long light brown hair and deep brown eyes. Her clothes consisted of a red sundress, black leather cuffs on her wrists and upper legs, a black joker, and black high heeled shoes. The woman was over six feet tall with a lean, muscular body and had a huge rifle strapped on her back. The other Blazing Guns sweatdropped at her attitude.

Lyla, having learned to be a little more aggressive from her year of travel, whacked Laura over the head with her staff. "If you drink all that, you'll get yourself into serious trouble. Honestly Laura, can't you ever control yourself?" The 16 year old was one of the two Defenders of the Priesthood of Baskar but had left since she wanted to help out her new friends; well, the fact that young Gallows had run off as well had something to do with it. She had long black hair and green eyes, and wore a tan dress with an orange moon and sun design on her shirt. There was a pattern of blue up pointed triangles alternating with white down pointing triangles on her collar, sleeves, and hem, and a belt styled like that was holding a leather pocketbook painted purple and orange around her waist. Finally, she had on leather boots.

"Last thing we need is for you to sleep with a man," Vincent added, "Then get pregnant and we have to watch over you." The 19 year old had blond hair worn in a bowel cut and green eyes. His shirt was red and the jeans were blue while his gloves and boots were made of leather. Finally, he had a leather jacket and a leather belt that held the holster for his pistol. The young boy was the brother to the next queen of Doria; they preferred females to inherit because of their connection with the Guardians.

"I agree. Anyway, I doubt Maya will be stupid enough to put any alcohol in the house that day; after all, she knows that you and Gallows Carradine will be there," Jessica finished. Gallows was the only person who understood Laura's problems with Desire because he too suffered from those same urges.

Laura, thinking of the low tolerance level of the female gunner, shouted, "Damn it all!"

Immediately, Jessica slapped her over the head with Dragonflare while the broadsword was still in its sheath. "Don't you dare complain! All your drinking habits won't make as much trouble for you as for all of us. If you were the one suffering, I'd be glad to give you some advice but let you make the mistakes on your own if it will make you smarter. But since all of us will be putting up with it, I have to draw the line. Now then, there will be no drinking your ass off during that party; that goes for you and Gallows when we give Virginia and her friends the invitations. Let's just get some food; I'm starving."

S...S

The next day, the team went to Vincent's Sandcraft and prepared to move out. Laura went to the helm, Lyla was working as a deckhand, Vincent had control over the harpoon, and Jessica went straight to the gun room. When she arrived, her Golden Tiger cub, Frisky, came bounding over to her. The young beast was now almost as tall as her thighs, but still quite playful. Frisky began twining herself around her mistress's legs in a welcoming gesture, causing the young priestess to smile a little bit.

"Well, we've just got to find Ginny and the others," she stated, "Then the fun can really begin."

* * *

**Teefa's Last Words...**

I was missing last year but I'm back and better than ever. Here's the Blazing Guns Sequel/Holiday fic. It will befivechapters. Next we've got to invite the Maxwell Gang to the party, and then perhaps I'll jump right to the festivities themselves. With Jessica's mistletoe and the "Great Egg Nog Hunt." Don't worry, you'll know all about it soon.


	2. Invitations and Preperations

**Invitations and Preparations**

Luck was on the Blazing Guns' side. A week later, they'd stumbled across Humphrey's Peak while looking for a place to get supplies; it was easier to go into town for basic ones than to find where in the world Ryokman got to. They soon found out that the Maxwell Gang was also in town so Clive could see his family. Jessica found Virginia at the well drawing water for her canteen; Jet was standing behind her, but insisted that he had nothing better to do. It was now time to make her move and approach them.

"Good afternoon Big Brother, Virginia," Jessica called, "Guess what I've got for you two?"

"You'll agree to leave us the hell alone about our relationship from now on? Jeez Jessica, you know that Virginia and I are just good friends. We only danced at that party because she didn't want to deal with some strangers who only respected her for her title," Jet retorted. Virginia sighed; she knew that Jet would definitely sidestep the issue with his sister in fear of the constant teasing she threw out.

Jessica replied, "Nope! I've been talking to Alfred and Maya, and they've agreed to hold a party for the Festival of the Guardians on December 20th. We figured that would give the rest of us some time to get to our homes and spend the holiday itself with our families. And, the best part is that Maya agreed to let us use her big mansion for the celebration! So she asked me to go find you and spread the word."

Virginia, a young woman with braided brown hair and bright blue eyes, smiled at her friend. She had on a purple skirt and vest, dress shirt, leather boots, white gloves, a red headband, a leather apron, and a belt holding her duel pistol holsters. As Vincent's twin sister, she was the rightful heir to Doria's throne, and wore the Royal Heirloom, the Teardrop, around her neck. "Sounds like fun! I'm sure the rest of the boys will love to go. Won't you Jet?" She glared at her friend; Jessica's brother who was physically 21 years of age. He looked identical to his sister with silver hair and violet eyes. However, the young man had on jeans, a black shirt, leather fringed vest, a pair of green wristbands held tight with black belts, an arm guard on his right hand, leather shoes with a green belt over the top, and a leather belt with a machine gun clip attached to provide ammo for his special ARM, the Airget-lamh BV/2.

"Whatever," the boy muttered, "I could care less if we go to a party or not. But you'll definitely want to be there because you'll get to spend time with all your friends. Since I'll get dragged there by my scarves if I refuse, I'll just go ahead and agree." The scarves in questions, a ratty red one and an equally tattered white one, had been confiscated by Catherine Winslett to be washed and dried for the youth.

"I knew you'd see reason Jet. And Clive and Gallows will want to go as well. Thanks for the info Jessica. We'll see you at the Scroedinger's mansion in about a month then," Virginia replied. With a smile, young Jessica rushed back to find her friends and begin making her plans for the gathering.

S...S

She gathered a spring of fake mistletoe, since Filgaia was hard pressed to find it for real even in Doria, a long stick she'd discovered last time she returned home, and some clear string. Though Frisky wanted to take the string from her, Jessica simply tossed a small piece of it over to the other side of the gun room. Then, she tied the string to both the mistletoe and the pole, and began smirking widely.

Jessica told her pet, "This is just perfect! We just have to hang it over the heads of everyone at the party from the shadows, then watch them kiss. Perfect time to get my brother to pull the stick out of his butt and show Ginny some emotion. Danced with her so she didn't have to do it with strangers my ass! He likes her Frisky, I know he does." The tiger replied by running over with the excess string in her mouth and dropping it to the floor. She then let out a small whine. Sighing, the young girl grabbed it and began waving it in front of Frisky's face while the creature jumped for it like a playful little house cat.

As the tiger cub jumped for the string, her mistress sighed. "Sometimes, I wonder if you even understand what I'm saying at all. Then again, what does it matter? At least I'm not talking to myself or a wall when we have these conversations. I'm just talking to someone who isn't listening to a word I say."

S...S

The party began growing ever closer. Whenever Jessica was alone, she would grab her mistletoe pole and begin practicing hanging it to look inconspicuous. Though she kept having to throw string to Frisky to keep her out of the way; the animal never seemed to realize the importance of her mistress's mission. This was the only chance they might have to help Jet and Virginia. As well as Gallows and Laura, and Vincent and Lyla. Jessica decided it would be best to make this a multiple strike. After all, what good would it to for only two of her friends to learn what it feels like to fall in love?

"Playing Raftina is hard work," she muttered, "But worth it. I'll finally get to see Big Brother smile for once in his life. And Mom won't have to worry about him so much afterwards; she'll know that Virginia will take good care of him. Plus, perhaps I'll shut Laura up and make Vincent and Lyle happy together."

She tossed the pole again, letting the mistletoe hang over her usual chair just low enough to touch the top of any victims' heads. Smirking, Jessica drew back her line and put it away. That was enough practice for one day. The girl knew all she needed now was to keep her aim in check. Her form was good enough, but she couldn't fall out of practice. That way, her plan would work come the party.

"Filgaia to Jessica! We've reached land. Vincent is going to go into Laxisland to get his ARM upgraded and Lyla is going with him. As for me…I'm heading for the bar," Laura shouted in the doorway.

That got Jessica moving. She knew what would happen if Laura was left in a bar all by herself. So with a single pat on the head and another tossed string for Frisky, the young priestess rushed after her flirtatious companion. This was only temporary, she told herself. After the party, Laura would learn to be more reserved. Even though she'd vowed earlier in the year to hold her alcohol, she really hadn't made any improvements at all. But with a more committed relationship, that would force her to be set straight.

* * *

**Teefa's Last Words...**

The party will start on time in the next chapter as planned. I didn't go off track! That'sfor me for one. I've got too many deadlines this semester that I have to keep this fanfic to the minimum number of chapters; I would have wrote it over the summer but I ended up working on my La Pucelle binge. And for the readers who probably want to get right to the good part anyway.


	3. Partying

**Partying**

"We're heeeeeeeeeeeeeere!" screamed Jessica when they arrived, "Hey! Alfred! Let's get this party started!" The Blazing Guns entered the parlor of the Schroedinger manor, decked up for a holiday party. Red and green streamers were hanging from the ceiling and the six tables that were around three of the four walls, only the large doorway leading to the kitchen had none, had white tablecloths with holly dancing around the edges. The center of the tablecloth held aFestival Tree; a variety of tree containing pine needles, instead of the usual leaves, that could live even in the deepest of winters. An enormous tree much like that, decorated with multi-colored ball shaped ornaments, was sitting off to the side with a few presents already underneath. Of course, owning to Filgaia's still recovering state, it was artificial.

"Hi Jessica! You're the first to arrive; Miss Virginia still isn't here. I'm just putting out the snacks," Alfred called as he came in. He went over to the table to the right of the front door and placed a large blue bowel of Cheezy Puffs. There were already Chedder Nachos, Tortillas and Salsa, Potato Chips, and Pretzel Rods on that same table, as well as the one to the left of the door. Each was in the same type of bowls as well. Alfred explained they were putting the same things on every table so there were enough.

A female voice called out, "We're here now. Let's help set the party up." Jessica turned to see the entire Maxwell Gang had just entered. In addition to her brother and best friend, she saw a tall 25-year-old Baskar with long brown hair worn in several braids with a small strand that he dyed white, and blue eyes. He wore a yellow vest, jeans, shawl around his black belt, a yellow and green band, and black shoes topped by some leather coverings that held over his pants and spurs on the backs. On the vest, he had a few clips of Shotgun Ammo, his ARM of choice. His name was Gallows, a runaway future priest.

The other man with them was also tall, but he had green hair worn in a small ponytail and blue eyes framed by glasses. He wore a pair of black pants and shirt, red coverings over his sleeves, short yellow boots, a yellow vest that he wore closed, and a red cloak worn under a black mantle that was held on by a leather belt. This was 30-year-old Clive Winslett, the team's senior member and voice of reason.

Alfred smiled. "Welcome everyone. Let's get set up so we can start this party and have fun."

S...S

A half hour later, the gang was finally getting started. Maya and Todd, her bodyguard, had joined the group as well. He was a man who wore purple disco shades over his dark eyes and had his black hair in an afro. The clothes, consisting of red and yellow downward striped pants along with a white shirt and red overcoat and shiny black shoes, also seemed to be stuck permanently in the disco era. The only person, errr…lifeform, missing was Shady; he didn't want to be around with a group of 11 Drifters in one place. As a cat, he preferred quiet. So Shady flew upstairs to the attic to take a nap until they left.

'Time to start,' Jessica thought, 'Just have to excuse myself as if I was going to use the restroom and then I can begin with the mistletoe.' So with a few polite excuses, she snuck back to the Sandcraft to pick up her pole. Frisky, who had been left behind, rushed right over with the stick in her mouth.

"Thanks girl. We'll get this little plan of ours into action now," she called. Then, the girl returned.

S...S

Off to one side, Gallows and Laura were busy eating as quickly as they could. Being big people, they were able to pop in more than the others. Even Clive and Todd, who were tall, couldn't do that much; they were too thin to do so. The Baskar asked, "Do you think we'll have some REAL egg nog? All I see is the crap without any alcohol. I'll bet the Little Lady is hiding it from the rest of the household."

Laura nodded. "Let's go find out. Jessica doubts she'll really have any. But what if she has some for her casual consumption but didn't take it out for the party. We'll just have to check her kitchen." Since Lyla and Vincent were talking to Alfred about something or other, Maya and Virginia were going on about firearms, and Todd, Clive and Jet were off to the side and not paying attention, they easily escaped.

The duo arrived in the kitchen and looked into the fridge. Laura opened it, only to find regular non-alcoholic egg nog inside. Sighing, the woman slammed the door closed. But just then, Gallows pointed something out that he saw on the door. It stated that there was more supplies for the party in the upstairs holding room. With much salivation, the two partiers began rushing up towards the next floor. They passed the bedrooms, a bathroom or two, six closets, and a game room. Soon, they arrived.

"Holy Chapapanga…" Gallows muttered, "Look at all of these refrigerators! All over the room."

"If we find there's lots of egg nog in these, we'll be in Alcoholic Heaven," Laura added.

There were wall to wall fridges in the 30x40 foot room that were just as tall as the 20 foot ceiling. Each one was as white as Leehalt's robes and had Sterling Silver handles. Along with this, there were two ladders like you find in libraries so one could get to the top of the room and take out the food on top.

In unison, the two Drifters stated, "Let's get cracking and find all that lovely holiday booze!"

S...S

Meanwhile, Jessica had returned to the party. She looked at the scene before her, not really changed from when Gallows and Laura had left. 'Drat it! Big Brother is off to the side while Virginia is having a session of "Girl Talk" with Maya. Somehow, I've gotta get them to be next to one another so I can show them that they are really in love. Hopefully, I can lure Maya away…get Alfred to help me.'

Seeing that she could at least test it on Lyla and Vincent, Jessica knew she had a chance. All she had to do was to get Alfred alone, convince him to lure his sister away from Virginia, and then get Jet to go over to speak with the princess. Finally, play with the mistletoe and them, then find Gallows and Laura. It mystified Jessica how the two most fun loving members could be so reclusive in a party like this.

* * *

**Teefa's Last Words...**

Jessica's plan begins next chapter. She's gonna begin the matchmaking scheme while a few little flashes showing what's going on in the upstairs fridge room.Uh, I thought a room filled with fridges would be cool. And they do have indoor plumbing cuz Maya is a rich girl and can afford things like that. Don't know when it really was created and don't care. After all, this is a fantasy game.


	4. Implementing

**Implementing**

"Find anything yet Gallows?" yelled Laura, "This one's only got milk, cheese, veggies, and fruit."

"Nothing! There's some egg nog in here, but it's the crappy non-alcoholic variety," Gallows yelled back. Each of them were working from opposite ends of the room on the ladders and had planned to meet at the center in the end. However, halfway through their search, neither had been able to locate the Egg Nog Holy Grail. Gallows did, however, discover a nice bottle of sangria; he pocketed it for later on.

Laura muttered, "This is starting to get depressing. I mean, we've got to find more than this stuff."

S...S

Jessica shrugged with the thought that the duo of drinkers were missing. "Oh well! No use crying over it. I'll find them later on, somewhere. Probably went looking to see if there is some sort of alcohol in the house somewhere. We should have gotten Todd to hand out drinks so he could only serve around two per person. That way, we wouldn't have any drunkards passed out on the floor, and those two would have stayed in the party. Right now though, I've got to send my message of love to Lyla and Vinnie-boy."

She snuck up behind a couch near where the two were talking to Alfred. Luckily, Vincent was next to Alfred and Lyla next to Vincent. If there was a mistake in aiming, at least she'd get the two guys under the mistletoe and not Lyla and Alfred; it would be bad to make her crush blush over an unwanted kiss. Jessica cast her line and let it fly. It hung right over Vincent and Lyla's heads, making them blush.

"Well, I'll be leaving you now," Alfred stated, "I didn't think that Maya hung any mistletoe for the party, one of her Laura and Gallows precautions, but I could have been wrong. Think I'll see what Jessica has been up to; I haven't seen her since she went off to go to the bathroom." Then, he left them.

"Well…I guess I can…do this…" whispered a nervous Lyla. Vincent nodded; he was nervous as well. So the two slowly walked off to the kitchen under the pretense of getting some meat from the fridge.

Alfred, in the meantime, had discovered Jessica behind the couch. He asked, "Why are you standing behind the couch with what appears to be a fishing pole? I take it the mistletoe that got Lyla and Vincent to run off to the kitchen to liplock." In shock, Jessica dropped her pole, quickly hiding it in case someone else came along. Blushing, she explained her matchmaking plan to Alfred. He understood her desires; Alfred would do the same if it would make his sister happy. And agreed to go get Maya away from Virginia so she and Jet could talk alone. He also told her that he'd search for Laura and Gallows.

Jessica beamed. "Thanks! Don't know where in Filgaia those two went; we're having a party after all. Just get Maya to leave Virginia so I can make her liplock with my brother." He nodded, and went over to the two girls. The swordswoman couldn't hear what he said, but soon Maya walked off with him. Virginia, bored without someone to talk to, went over to the corner to speak with her crush.

'Perfect!' thought Jessica, 'Time to make it work.' She then snuck over behind a table where they were standing. Neither spoke; their nerves were most likely preventing any action as usual. Oh, that would change now that Jessica was in charge. They were going to passionately kiss if they liked it or not.

"Jet…do you want to go in the other room? I mean, I want to get some quiet," she told him. Just as Jessica cast her line, Jet nodded and walked off towards the kitchen. At the same time, a blushing Lyla and Vincent returned from their time in the kitchen. They were blushing deeply as a result of the kiss they'd just shared. Jessica was forced to thrust back her line before they found the felled mistletoe and it led them back to her and her master plan. That was an interruption that the girl didn't need at this time.

She muttered, "I'll bet it would be easier to get Gallows and Laura. But where did they get to?"

S...S

The duo had met at the final fridge in the middle of the back wall. Laura grabbed the silver handle and Gallows rested his hands on hers. Together, they slowly and sensually pulled back the one item that held them from certain bliss or despairing failure. The light shone on them, a light of hope.

Laura's eyes went wide. "Gallows! Look at all this egg nog! It's…it's the real deal. There's alcohol in them! We're finally able to enjoy our party." She could read the cartons' contents; it said that their long search in the room of pain had come to fruition. At once, they each grabbed two cartons from the top of the fridge, slammed the door closed, and opened their prizes. Then, they began guzzling. Though this was far from all they would be drinking. Once they were finished, they'd go back for more.

S...S

Jessica knew she couldn't worry about her wayward buddies. Now, she needed to help Jet and Virginia. So the girl snuck into the kitchen and hid behind one of the counter edges. The two lovebirds were talking in hushed whispers and Virginia seemed worried about something or other. Every time she mentioned a phrase to Jet, he would grow paler; if that was possible, seeing as he was already really light.

"Are you sure!" he exclaimed finally, "I mean, we only really were together that one time Ginny."

"One time is enough Jetty-boy. Women's bodies don't take things like first times into account. This might throw a monkey wrench into our own plans. We'll have to inform Gallows and Clive about our secret wedding last August and the fact that we slept together only a month ago. I know most women aren't able to tell so soon, but I am a Shaman after all; I know when there is another life beating within my own body. And, if I'm correct, there are two lives inside of me," Virginia called back to her young partner.

Jessica turned as pale as her brother; she wasn't expecting this little tidbit to reach her ears. In fact, since she had been casting her pole just as Virginia had mentioned her pregnancy, the girl tossed the entire mistletoe rig into the air. It landed on Jet's head and hung down, causing him to blush deeply.

Virginia tossed her head towards where it had come from and away from her blushing husband. She could sense another Shaman in the room with her; a Shaman girl who didn't want to be found by anyone at all. "Jessica Linnea Enduro! You are getting out of there right now. So that's why Lyla and my brother rushed out after finding mistletoe hanging over them, even though Maya never hung any. Or why Alfred was in such a rush to get his sister to come upstairs and check the fruitcake he put in the fridge."

* * *

**Teefa's Last Words...**

One more chapter after this crazy one. That'll settle all the problems. We'll see what happened when Gallows and Laura are caught with the egg nog, and Jet's reaction to his sister. And yes, I had to put the pregnancy in here. Cuz based on my timeline (taken down since you can't have full AN chapters anymore) they marry in August, and she gets pregnant in November.


	5. Resolve

**Resolve**

"Heh, you found me out," Jessica said sheepishly, "I was just trying to help you guys." The girl snuck out from behind the counter with a blushed face. Her older brother was doing his best to look inconspicuous following the information she'd just learned. But he did manage to scowl at his sister.

"I know how much you wanted Jet to open up and express his feelings, but your plans back in Doria were enough. He's got to take things in his own time and not worry about you interfering. So I promised to keep the fact that he told me that he loved me and we were going to begin a deeper relationship a secret from everyone as long as possible. The only other person who knows that we're married is Halle because she performed the ceremony. This was not the way either of us wanted to break this little bit of news to anyone, no matter how close they are related," Virginia scolded the girl.

Jessica exclaimed, "But now you have to! You can't keep a pregnancy a secret too long."

At that moment, the trio heard footsteps coming in from the living room. "What's this I hear about a pregnancy? Is there something you haven't been telling us Virginia, Jet?" They turned to see Clive, Lyla, Vincent, and Todd standing in the doorway. Instantly, Jet's face became as red as his scarf; this was turning out to be a horrible day for him. Luckily, Gallows wasn't there to hear Jessica's outburst.

"Yes, I think I'm pregnant," Virginia snapped back, "Jet and I got together after the party in Doria, were married by Halle when we were in Baskar back in August, and finally got time to consummate it last month. If anyone starts teasing him about his relationship with me then they're going to be on the wrong end of a Saint spell that'll hurt them until the next century! Get it?" Seeing her glare, they all nodded.

"Well, there's no need for worry. After all, Gallows is the one who will most likely tease you the most and he happens to be AWOL at the moment. Come to think of it, I haven't seen him since around the time Jessica went to find an outhouse because she didn't realize that Maya had indoor plumbing," Clive remarked. It was a mystery to him why the fun loving Baskar would have missed this party.

Lyla informed them, "I saw him and Laura leave when Alfred, Vincent, and I were talking about what it feels like to have siblings. They went upstairs if I'm not mistaken. Alfred thought they were looking for a bathroom and Todd or Maya had informed them of the indoor plumbing but now I wonder…"

S...S

About now, the Schroedinger siblings were nearing the refrigerator room upstairs. Alfred looked to his sister; he hoped she wasn't picking up on his luring tactic. "I hope everyone likes my fruitcake; I worked hard on the recipe and honed it over years of trial and error. The reason I left it up here is because I wanted food for our meals and the earlier part of the party to take precedence when putting things in the downstairs one. Something tells me I'll need a little bit of help; I don't know why though."

He was about to find out. For the second they entered the room, the two saw the back fridge door hanging wide open with some of the egg nog cartons missing. A few had fallen out onto the floor where they lay open and spilled. Six were tossed off to the side but had no spillage. And lying on the floor, drunk and practically comatose, were Gallows and Laura, drool escaping their bottom lips.

"Looks like you were right Alfred!" Maya exclaimed, "Those two got into the stash of alcoholic egg nog that Todd and I keep up here so we can enjoy it throughout the year. And now we have to drag their sorry asses downstairs and get help from the others. Let's go Alfred; start with the girl while I get the lug."

S...S

"I should have known he'd try something like this! No wonder why that buffoon wasn't out spying on me and Virginia when we went into the kitchen together," muttered Jet. The siblings had dragged the two drunkards as far as the upper stairway before it became too much work; both Gallows and Laura were quite muscular and that made them extremely heavy. So they'd went to get help from some volunteers and ended up having theEnduros andthe Maxwelltwins agree to finish the job. Now, the spaced out duo were safely lying on couches, dead to the world, and would not bother anyone else that night.

Alfred said, "Maybe we should have locked it, knowing these two would be here. Anyway, I want to congratulate the two of you. I hope you have lovely children." At those words, the two lovebirds began blushing. Jessica wanted to smirk, but knew her brother was in no mood to be tested anymore tonight.

Jet looked away. "Whatever. This was bound to happen sooner or later, nothing I can do now."

"That better not have been a negative comment on parenthood!" yelled Virginia, "You are going to grow up Jet Enduro and take responsibility as a father. We slept together and I got pregnant. You're no longer able to act like this spoiled little brat who doesn't care about anyone but himself and his money when he's around his friends. No, you've got to show everyone what you really feel!" Instantly, the young man backed away; he was fearful of what his wife could do when angered since she was really strong.

S...S

They stayed over the Schroedinger's house that evening so nobody had to go to leave early. Though everyone else got the bedrooms, a very spiteful Maya left Gallows and Laura on the couches; she was still mad about all the egg nog they'd consumed. In the morning, the two were both berated by their team leaders for pulling that stunt. Then, Jet and Virginia's big news was shared with the duo.

"I always knew you had it in you punk! Well done," Gallows responded; throwing his arm around the young man's shoulders. Jet quickly pushed the overly friendly Baskar off, happy that he wasn't being teased or tortured for liking Virginia. Gallows knew it was a death sentence to do that; he might be an idiot but he wasn't suicidal. Also, he'd already got one lecture from Virginia and didn't need a second.

Jessica, knowing very well that the Maxwell Gang would have to sort out the issue on their own, suggested, "I'm just gonna take my team and get going. We still need to do a little shopping and then go back to Doria to see my mother for the holidays. Hey! Virginia, you should hide out from the Ark there."

The girl smiled. "I already thought of that. All four of us can go since the Guardians chose us."

And so, the eight Drifters waved goodbye to the Schroedinger Family and headed for their Sandcrafts. They met back in Doria about three days later; after Jessica had finished her last minute shopping and the other girls had stopped in on their own families. Though the Blazing Guns left after the Festival of the Guardians ended, the Maxwell Gang planned to stay until the babies, now confirmed by Victoria to be a boy and a girl, were born. With one last wink to her brother and sister-in-law, and a hug for Jet and Jess as well, Jessica stepped back into the Sandcraft for more adventures across Filgaia.

* * *

**Teefa's Last Words...**

Over and done! Nice little holiday special filled with humor. Pity I didn't find a place to insert Percival. But oh well; I liked it how it was.


End file.
